August 29, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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Last week we saw that back-to-school spending in the U.S. is projected to decrease slightly from 2010. In an effort to boost sales and distinguish themselves from their competitors, a number of brands are using creative and innovative ways to engage with their customers. This is a smart move considering that the meteoric rise in the use of social media, smartphones, and tablets continues to drastically change the shopping process.
In a recent survey by Deloitte, 64% of smartphone users planned to use them as part of the shopping process, primarily to get price information (61%) and to ...
August 19, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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The cry of “school’s out for summer!!” was still echoing in the halls and the kids had barely started to enjoy the lazy hazy days of summer - and the stores were boldly displaying backpacks, binders, and pencils? It wasn’t your imagination; many retailers and advertisers moved up the start of their back to school campaigns in 2011. Merchants such as Staples, Target, and Toys “R” Us began advertising back to school specials the first week in July, and some retailers began promoting school supplies as early as mid-June.
The National Retail Federation reports that back to school and back to c...
August 15, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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Eager to get in on the ground floor and leverage the buzz surrounding Google+, businesses are keen to be part of this new social offering. However, Google has made it clear that the current iteration of Google+ is targeted towards individual users, not brands or business entities. Of course, Google is not going to exclude corporations for long, but there has been some confusion as to how they will implement brand pages.
Initially, Google was in the process of screening and selecting business partners to be included in the test phase of Google+ for businesses. However, the response was ...
August 9, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Google recently released new tools to track the impact of social media plugins such as tweets, likes and +1s.
Google Webmaster Tools
The +1 metrics in Google Webmaster Tools provide three reports – Search, Activity and Audience – that show you how the +1 button affects traffic to your website.
Search Report – indicates how +1 button affects your site performance through organic search results. The report shows the list of pages that have the most +1 annotated impressions and the click through rate (CTR) with or without a +1 button.
Activity Report – indicates how many times a page...
July 14, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Koreans have a very busy lifestyle, so when Tesco grocery chain entered the Korean market they needed a way to make life easier for the busy Korean worker. The idea: “let the store come to the people”. Tesco created virtual stores in subway stations that mimic their displays in store. Using smartphones, commuters easily scan the QR code next to the product and add items to their cart. Once they complete their order, it will be delivered to their door. Tesco reports that online sales increased 130%, making them number one online and number two offline.
Tesco created the following video ...
July 6, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Consumers now have a say in fashion production and design. Some brands are now offering consumers the chance to vote on what is produced or designed. By doing this, brands are engaging the shopper and creating demand for products before they are even produced. Large brands like Burberry have recognized the importance of giving their customers the opportunity to be involved in the design process. Burberry launched the Bespoke initiative that allows customers to design their own trench coats, by selecting the pattern and material so that they can create a unique item to their style and taste....
June 27, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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So just how big is mobile commerce? In a recent report from Forrester, it is estimated that mobile commerce will top $6 billion by the end of 2011, and grow at an annual rate of 39% through to 2016 to $31 billion. This means that by 2016, mobile commerce will still only account for 7% of overall online sales.
And according to a recent survey by eMarketer, the most popular reason for using a smartphone while shopping is to compare prices of products and services (purchasing ranked as least popular reason).
However, while mobile commerce may be a relatively small percentage of online sales...
June 2, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Search engines have added a social touch to their results recently. Users now have the ability to see what results their friends Like and view recommendations through their searches.
Bing
Bing recently incorporated Facebook Likes into its results, making search more personalized. It’s described as the “Friend Effect”, where users are more inclined to make decisions based on the recommendations and opinions of friends. When a user conducts a search, it will show which (if any) of their friends liked the results. Also displayed in the search results, are Facebook users within the network th...
May 13, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Location-based services have become very popular among smartphone users where ‘check-ins’ are required. Visa has recently launched a new program that does not require a ‘check-in’, but instead sends offers to customers using SMS messages. Visa partnered with the Gap to offer discounts to customers (via text message) in specific zip codes and demographics after they made a purchase at the retailer using their Visa card. The program is called Gap Mobile 4 U. Once a customer enrolls online, they can begin receiving updates on discounts and promotions when they use their Visa card in Gap store...
May 12, 2011
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Posted by
Caroline Zenss
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Some say 2011 is the year of the mobile. According to Dominic Gagnon, CEO at Piranha and speaker for Infopresse, it’s not. 2011 is a year for experimentations, pilots and mistakes. I think he hit the nail on the head and this is a good opportunity for me to bust three mobile myths:
Myth #1: QR codes are essential to a mobile campaign
A QR code (Quick Response) is a bar-code that can be read by camera phones. Last weekend I came across a QR code while shopping for new appliances. It said: “Read this code using your smartphone to access our rebate site”, which I did, but only to land on...
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